October 2011

October 23, 2011

NORMAN, Okla. _ Sometime in the early stages of Sunday morning, the nation’s longest home winning streak gave way to the biggest road victory in Texas Tech history.

And there was nothing flukey about it beyond a 1 hour, 34 minute weather delay before the opening kickoff that prevented the Red Raiders from knocking off No. 3 Oklahoma in prime-time, as originally scheduled.

But the Red Raiders did not mind that it took more than five and a half hours _ from the scheduled kickoff to the final play _ to put the finishing touches on a 41-38 upset that ended Oklahoma’s 39-game home winning streak at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

With the victory over the Sooners, who were ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll in addition to their No. 3 spot in the BCS standings, Tech (5-2, 2-2 in Big 12) prevailed as a 29-point underdog. The upset made Oklahoma the highest-ranked team Tech has ever defeated on the road, replacing road victories from yesteryear over No. 8 Texas (1967) and No. 8 Arkansas (1986).

“When you go on the road and beat the No. 1 team, it is really special … almost impossible to do,” said Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville. “On a national level, you don’t read too much about Texas Tech. You haven’t seen much about them on TV. But I’ll bet you will see it for the next few days and we will be proud of that.”

He should be. So should the offensive players who were instrumental in racking up 572 yards and scoring five touchdowns against the Sooners’ vaunted defense. So should the defensive players who held the Sooners scoreless for eight consecutive possessions after OU scored a touchdown on its opening drive.

The scoreless stretch extended into the third quarter and included a missed field goal, a lost fumble and six three-and-outs. By the time the Sooners lit up the scoreboard for the second time, they were behind 31-7 and headed to their first home loss since falling to TCU, 17-10, in the 2005 season opener.

Tech safety D.J. Johnson called the victory “very special” and said the performance “showed how much we’ve grown” in recent weeks under first-year defensive coordinator Chad Glasgow, a former TCU assistant who was in the stadium _ and coaching the Horned Frogs’ secondary _ the last time OU lost at home.

“He spoke to us about it. He told us how he’d beaten Oklahoma,” Johnson said.

Did it help knowing that?

“I’d say a little bit,” said Johnson, whose second-quarter forced fumble against Sooners’ receiver Ryan Broyles proved to be a momentum-turning moment during OU’s scoreless stretch. It marked one of two turnovers forced by the Tech defense. The Red Raiders’ offense finished without a turnover.

Asked if he learned anything about defending Oklahoma in 2005 that proved useful Saturday, Glasgow said: “Nothing. Those are two completely different teams, two completely different situations. But any time you can go on the road and win a game like this, it means a lot.”

It meant a lot to Oklahoma, too. The Sooners (6-1, 3-1) no longer control their destiny in either the Big 12 or national championship race heading into next week’s matchup against No. 11 Kansas State (7-0, 4-0).

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who is now 75-3 in home games during his tenure at the school, did not mince words in assessing his team’s shortcomings.

“They whipped us in every part of the game,” Stoops said. “We were definitely outcoached and outplayed. The first half … it was really poor. Defensively, we really got outplayed and offensively, it was just too little, too late.”

Ironically, all three of Stoops’ home losses in his OU tenure have come against prohibitive underdogs. Oklahoma State prevailed, 16-13, as a 27-point underdog in 2001. TCU won, 17-10, as a 26-point underdog in 2005. But Tech topped both of those predecessors Saturday, winning as a 29-point underdog coming off consecutive home losses.

But the Red Raiders wasted little time in seizing momentum, which they maintained most of the night. Tech scored a touchdown on its opening possession, with quarterback Seth Doege (441 yards, 4 TDs, no interceptions) finding receiver Alex Torres on a 44-yard scoring strike. Tech rolled for 329 yards and 24 points in the first half.

Eventually, the Doege-Torres duo hooked up for two additional touchdowns: a 30-yarder in the second quarter and an 11-yarder in the third, as Tech built a 31-7 lead that Oklahoma would trim to 31-24 before the Raiders responded with consecutive scoring drives (54 yards for a field goal, 74 yards for a touchdown) to put the contest out of reach.

“This is special for the entire team,” Doege said. “A lot of people thought we couldn’t do this. The people who are associated with Big 12 football didn’t think we could win this game.”

But the Red Raiders believed. They persevered. And they prevailed.

Now, the top-ranked Sooners are left scrambling in the national championship race. And forced to wait until Nov. 5, against No. 17 Texas A&M, before they will have another chance to start rebuilding a home winning streak.

October 21, 2011

Missouri's curators met today and authorized chancellor Brady Deaton to move the school to another league, if he deems it in the school's best interest. That could clear the way to the Tigers joining the Southeastern Conference.

Chuck Neinas, the Big 12 interim commissioner, responded with a statement saying league officials "look forward to discussing Missouri's future" during a Monday meeting of league presidents.

Below is the full text of Neinas' statement, distributed by league officials:

“We look forward to discussing Missouri’s future with the Big 12 Conference," said interim commissioner Chuck Neinas. "The school has been involved with the Big 12 and its predecessor conferences since 1907. It is propitious that the Big 12 Board of Directors has a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday. Obviously, Conference membership will be thoroughly discussed at that time.”

Big 12 interim commissioner Chuck Neinas said he looks forward to discussing Missouri’s future as a conference member during a Monday meeting of league presidents in the wake of today’s action by Missouri curators to give chancellor Brady Deaton the authority to move the school to another league.

Deaton confirmed that Missouri has provided information to Southeastern Conference officials in regard to a possible move at a news conference following today’s meeting in Kansas City, Mo.

Deaton said discussions about realignment are ongoing and a “decision will be undertaken expeditiously.” Deaton also told reporters that the school would seek to make any move to another league in time for the 2012 football season.

That timetable conflicts with plans laid out by Neinas during an Oct. 11 teleconference, when he said the league would operate as a 10-member confence during the 2012-13 school year, with TCU and Missouri as part of the mix. TCU will join the Big 12 on July 1, 2012, replacing SEC-bound Texas A&M.

“If Missouri was going to change … it wouldn’t be for 2012, anyway,” Neinas said at the time, acknowledging the school’s ongoing discussions in regard to realignment.

In a statement issued today by league officials, Neinas said Big 12 administrators “look forward to discussing Missouri’s future” and that conference membership “will be discussed thoroughly” at Monday’s meeting.

Multiple league sources have expressed concern about being able to fill Missouri’s dates on 2012 football schedules if the conference is forced to operate as a nine-member league in 2012-13. There has been speculation about possible legal action by any school or schools that would lose the revenues from a home football game if Missouri’s date on that team’s 2012 schedule could not be filled because of such a late departure.

A possible solution could be adding Brigham Young, an independent in football, for the 2012 season. But it is unclear if BYU is at the top of the list of candidates under consideration by the league’s expansion committee. Other candidates include Big East members Louisville and West Virginia.

Neinas has said the Big 12 will not add a new member simply to fill a one-year gap on the football schedule. Any invitations would be based on a long-term fit with the league, Neinas said.

October 20, 2011

Texas men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes said today he has no plans to continue the Longhorns’ series with Texas A&M on a non-conference basis when the Aggies join the Southeastern Conference after this season.

“They already made that decision,” Barnes said during Big 12 basketball media days in Kansas City, Mo. “They chose to leave. We’re playing them twice (this season). They made the decision. We didn’t … They didn’t want to play us or anybody in the Big 12.”

Barnes said he prefers that his non-conference schedule be structured around high-profile national matchups for television purposes, which has led to recent games against North Carolina, Duke, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Connecticut.

“If we were going to play SEC teams, it probably would be Kentucky and Florida,” Barnes said. “Teams that would get the most exposure.”

Barnes’ comments came one day after Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey said the Lady Bears would not play regular-season games against A&M after this season, ending a rivalry between schools that won women’s national titles in 2005 (Baylor) and 2011 (A&M).

Glynn Cyprien, A&M’s associate head coach, said the school’s move to the SEC on July 1 has “been held against us” in recruiting by other schools and has altered the Aggies’ recruiting strategy. Although A&M still seeks “to get a strong hold on Texas” in its recruiting efforts, there will be a heightened focus on other states because of the SEC move.

“It used to be that high school kids, coaches and parents could go see away games … when we go play at Baylor or over in Austin,” Cyprien said. “But now, it’s different. The closest conference game after this year will probably be down in Baton Rouge (against LSU). That’s been held against us in terms of recruiting. So we’ve got to change and we’ve got to go down to the Southern states … where we’re going to play and try and use that as a positive.”

Lewandowski stepping up: Texas Tech’s first-year coach Billy Gillispie predicted a breakout season for Robert Lewandowski, a 6-10 senior who is one of only three returning players on the Red Raiders’ roster. Lewandowski, who averaged 8.5 points per game last season, has dropped 25 pounds in the off-season and lowered his body fat from 18 percent to single digits.

“I don’t make bold statements but I will make a bold statement with him,” Gillispie said. “I think he’ll have an unbelievable season. He’s worked as hard as anyone I’ve ever been around.”

Counting on Robinson: Kansas coach Bill Self said Thomas Robinson, a 6-7 forward who was the Jayhawks’ sixth man last season, will have to develop into “one of the best 10 to 15 players in the country” for Kansas to win its eighth consecutive regular-season title.

“I think he has ability to play at a high, high level like that,” Self said.

New guards in mix: Baylor coach Scott Drew said he Bears “really like the options we have” at guard although A.J. Walton, who had 142 assists and 101 turnovers last season, is the only returnee at the position who has played for the school.

Newcomers include point guard Pierre Jackson, the nation’s top-rated junior college signee, freshman Deuce Bello and shooting guard Brady Heslip, a transfer from Boston College. Gary Franklin, a transfer from California, will be eligible at midseason. Drew said he expects Jackson to be “a big factor” because he is a smart player whose “speed and athleticism let him get anywhere on the court you want him to go.”

Thumbs up for TCU: Gillispie, a Graford native, offered a thumbs up to Big 12 administrators for adding TCU to the league next season.

“They want to be competitive in everything,” Gillispie said of the Horned Frogs. “And they have the ability to do that.”

October 19, 2011

Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey stressed today that regular-season games between her team and Texas A&M will cease once the Aggies join the Southeastern Conference.

Mulkey compared playing A&M as an SEC member to sleeping with an ex-husband after he asks for a divorce. She referenced the words of A&M president R. Bowen Loftin, who equated his school’s move to the SEC to ending a failed marriage with the Big 12, calling the relationship “over.”

“If a man wants to divorce me and says our relationship has no value to him, and then he asks me if he can sleep with me, the answer is, ‘No,’” Mulkey said during the Big 12 basketball media days. “We’re not going to play them any more because they decided that playing us was not important to them.”

Mulkey’s stance means this year’s schedule will mark the final regular-season meetings between A&M, the defending NCAA women’s champion, and Baylor, the 2005 NCAA women’s champion and a preseason favorite to win this year’s title. The teams play Feb. 11 in Waco and Feb. 27 in College Station.

A&M coach Gary Blair said eliminating the Baylor rivalry “would not be my choice” because the games generate sellouts and have a comparable intensity to the Duke-North Carolina rivalry in men’s basketball. But it is becoming clear to Blair that the Aggies will be hard-pressed to find games against former Big 12 teams once they move to the SEC on July 1.

Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said she has no plans to schedule A&M in non-conference play, either. Blair said any cold shoulders from in-state rivals in the Big 12 involve recruiting implications and he has an antidote.

“There are about … 12 other Division I schools in the state of Texas, and I think a lot of them will be glad to play Texas A&M,” Blair said.

Ring it up: A&M coach Gary Blair said players will receive their NCAA championship rings and the NCAA championship banner will be raised to the rafters in Reed Arena at the team’s Nov. 15 game against Louisville.

Reed is ready: Texas coach Gail Goestenkors said the most encouraging aspect of her team’s summer trip to Europe was the performance of Cokie Reed, a 6-4 center who missed last season after undergoing foot surgery in October. Reed averaged 8.4 points per game as a freshman during the 2009-10 season, earning a spot on the Big 12 All-Freshman squad.

“She’s so much better than she was two years ago, there’s no comparison,” Goestenkors said. “She’s going to demand a double team … so she opens things up for (teammates) and she really changes the game for us.”

October 17, 2011

First up is Texas coach Mack Brown:Not being able to convert in the red zone has been the Longhorns' Achilles heel this season, Brown said. "It's totally demoralizing and a great motivator for the opposing team."

Brown feels his team has gone from being one of the worst KO return teams in the country to one of the best and obviously a big part of that is Fozzy Whitaker. Brown talked about the success the Horns have had and look to have in the future with Whitaker in the Wildcat formation.

Brown said he has been proponent of coaches not shaking hands after the game. He mentioned coaches running up the score and just plain not liking one another. "I'm not a guy that is going to fight on the field," he said.

Brown said he does not even want to meet with the opposing coach before the game, comparing the game to a business trip.

Brown will address the depth chart and QB situation at his weekly press conference in Austin this morning.

Next up is Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.

On the postgame handshake, Stoops said it can be awkward but at the end of the day, it is about being professional. "Consider the other guy and always be a sport about it."

"It just gets down to being a prop about it. Showing good sportsmanship at the college level is the right thing to do," Stoops said.

On Texas Tech, the Sooners' opponent this weekend: "It seems very familiar with what we are seeing from Texas Tech. Their quarterback is doing a great job."

Next up is Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy:

On the postgame handshake, Gundy said he has never had an issue with it.

"That's part of what we do as coaches," he said. "Before the game, the coaches come out and show sportsmanship. (Big 12 coaches) all really get along and don't have issues."

Gundy did say, however, that he is not sure if the handshake is something coaches should do after the game, considering they do it before the game already.

Next up is Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville:

Tuberville said losing consecutive conference games takes a lot out of a team mentally. He said the Red Raiders' game against OU this week will be a good test to see where his team is at.

"We've got a tough challenge but I think we'll bounce back and play better than we've played. We could easily have been 6-0 at this point and had more confidence going into this week. We self-destructed last week."

Tuberville said QB Seth Doege made bad decisions against Kansas State on Saturday.

"I think we put too much on Seth and that is why we are trying to run the ball more. But we can't ask him to win every game with his arm. His first six games have been great and we wouldn't take back anything."

On the postgame handshake: "It's a common courtesy. I think it is important for the fans and the players to see it. It is really embarrassing to see something like that happen in our sport."

Next up is Baylor coach Art Briles:

Briles answered three questions with very short answers. Was heard in the background talking to what appeared to be assistant coaches.

Next up is Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman:

On Ryan Swope's big performance against Baylor on Saturday: "He practices the same way he plays the game. As hard as he practices, when he comes to the game he is at another level. You don't want to go against this kid."

"There's no question he is an elite quarterback and he will be playing quarterback for a long time, even after he leaves Baylor. His ability to put the ball in a tight window is phenomenal. His (deep ball)...is uncanny."

October 16, 2011

Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill was selected today as the national offensive player of the week by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Tannehill, a senior, threw for 415 yards and a career-high six touchdowns in the Aggies’ 55-28 victory over Baylor in College Station. Four of the TD passes went to Ryan Swope (11 catches, 206 yards), the most in any game by an Aggies’ receiver.

Utah DE Derrick Shelby earned national defensive honors with seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception return for a touchdown in the Utes’ 26-14 victory over Pittsburgh.

October 15, 2011

Texas quarterback David Ash, a freshman, made his first career start today vs. Oklahoma State. So did LT Josh Cochran, a freshman who replaced LT Tray Allen, a fifth-year senior, in the Longhorns starting lineup.